That Home Loan Hub
Welcome to That Home Loan Hub, your ultimate guide to mastering the world of home loans and property. I'm Zebunisso Alimova, here to simplify the complexities of real estate and provide you with expert insights and the latest trends.
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That Home Loan Hub
Retirement Plans Begin With A Will
The quiet crisis of retirement isn’t market swings or interest rates—it’s families forced to guess at wishes while juggling grief, bills, and decisions that can’t wait. We bring this into the light with a candid, humane look at what truly protects the people you love: a clear will, enduring power of attorney, and conversations that happen before they’re needed.
We talk through why the 70–85 age bracket is often overlooked, especially for those raised to keep money private and split roles along old lines. That silence leaves gaps when one partner handled finances for decades. With relatable stories and hard-earned lessons, we unpack the essentials: choosing a strong executor, writing instructions that prevent conflict, and updating documents after milestones like marriage, births, or a move. We also step beyond dollars to cover the logistics that matter—funeral preferences, who communicates with the whanau, where documents live, and how to avoid decision gridlock when stress is high.
You’ll hear how one family’s preparation turned a tough weekend into a smooth, respectful process because wishes were known and roles were clear. We outline practical next steps you can take today, whether you’re retired, nearing retirement, or the adult child trying to help: make a solid will, set enduring power of attorney for property and for personal care and welfare, share the plan with the right people, and keep a simple, findable checklist of accounts, policies, and contacts. Clarity is a gift. If this sparks action, subscribe, share with someone who needs it, and leave a review to help more families plan with confidence.
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Hello. If you are in the retirement sector or looking to get retired soon, this is the episode for you. I've got James Buchanan back in the house. Our senior retired person. You know what I mean. Hello, James.
SPEAKER_01:Maureen.
SPEAKER_00:I swear to God, every single episode we start together starts with laughter.
SPEAKER_01:That's the only way.
SPEAKER_00:I hope it's the daily doze of people's day.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that's the only way to do it.
SPEAKER_00:Awesome. So take it away. What have you been thinking about?
SPEAKER_01:Well, I guess this is for the last three or four months I've been preoccupied with, you know, looking after, you know, the the the retired, the senior sector of our society. You know, we're always talking about the young ones and trying to get them into first homes and stuff like that. But you know, since my mum passed away and I got to meet a lot of see a lot of their friends, you know, again at that at the at the ceremony uh and stuff like that. I just there's a lot of people that aren't being looked after in that in that sick well in that 70 to 85 sort of bracket, and they don't know where to go. Yeah, they don't necessarily have anybody to talk to about it, and they don't know where to start.
SPEAKER_00:And correct me if I'm wrong, this is a generation of people that are not used to talking about money anyway, right? I mean, them growing up, they haven't been taught talked about money, or maybe even taught about money as much. And then that's usually a generation where there is a male that's predominantly the main income earner, and then the wife was the housewife that will look after the household and the kids. So they weren't really talking about finances to each other to begin with, and then going and talking to someone else about finances and what to do, and as you say, succession planning of what's going to happen with that money when they retire and how to spend the rest of the money to make sure it lasts because people do live longer now. So, how do we change the narrative? What do we do here?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, I've been listening to some really interesting there's people out there that are focusing on this area in terms of succession planning because it is really important. We've got to try and encourage people, our elders, to discuss with the younger ones, the people coming through, what their plans are, what their what what their purpose is after they pass away, what do they want done with their estate, and that sort of thing, because there's a lot of often nobody knows. And if a will's not been done, it it's it's a it can be a real nightmare. And that's what I the th the positive thing I learned from my mum is that she organized everything before she passed away. She was really onto it. Uh so dad did doesn't want to go on computers and look after his finances and stuff like that. So when we knew mum was getting really sick, I jumped in and I'm and I'm now looking after the finances. But mum and dad shared exactly what they wanted to do. So it it it became really easy and when mum did pass away. We knew we knew exactly what we had to do because mum had told us very clearly what she wanted.
SPEAKER_00:But I think that's rare.
SPEAKER_01:It is very rare.
SPEAKER_00:I think it's very rare, and because I speak to a lot of people within the women circles that I'm in, you know, and there are women from young age to retired age. And a common theme that's coming through not a lot of women had the same opportunity as your mum, knowing about finances, being savvy about financing, being organized enough to leave behind the wills and wishes. So, what would be one recommendation that we can do right now for our listeners that will help them to go, okay, this is what I need to do? Because you know how people are the creatures of next steps. Yeah. Sometimes we have to give them those next steps. So this is not a financial advice, this is more of a conversation. But I from, you know, given the experience that you've been through and talking to all those friends of your parents that are of that age, what would you be thinking for them? What should they be doing right now?
SPEAKER_01:Well, I think the first step is is probably having making sure that they've got a will and and just having a real and and and a good will, one one that's very clear so that when you when you do pass away, there's not a lot of it's very clear on what's supposed to happen. And because you don't want to leave, you know, it's already a stressful period, right, for the people left behind. They're dealing with all the emotion and all that kind of stuff. They've got a very you know, you you've got to get a funeral organized and you've got to work together as a family. Who's in charge? You know, everybody wants may want to be in charge, they all have got different ideas about what to do. So that's why that needs to be clear in a will so that you sort of have one person that's kind of in charge and knows exactly what's supposed to be happening. And that that will take a lot of the conflict out of you know, out of a out of a terrible situation. Because you're already under quite a bit of stress.
SPEAKER_00:So but I think the key as well as talking previously on other episodes with my lawyer friends, is making sure you do the will when you're sound of mind. Yeah. Because that's the last thing we want is people rushing out there getting the wills done, but then not actually thinking straight, or if they're already experiencing early onset of whatever. So um definitely getting legal advice and getting the will set up.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, because it's a lot cheaper to do it. A will doesn't cost very much money. Yeah, I mean it might be a few hundred dollars or something like that. I'm not entirely sure. But it's um but it's a lot cheaper than having to go through the court system to try and work out who who the estate should be left to.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, totally. It's a no-brainer.
SPEAKER_01:And it's really easy. I mean, I've done it several times myself, you know, because every time you have kids, uh kids every time Rebecca pisses you off, your will changes. Yeah, or the kids, yeah, who take that kid out. And uh, you know, when you get married, apparently you're supposed to change your will and all that kind of stuff. So it's definitely something to look at. That that that's a main one. And having somebody, I think what they call as an enduring power of attorney, which is somebody who, and maybe, and this is even for younger people, you know, if something happens to you and you are incapacitated, you're not able to make decisions, it could be from any kind of accident or playing sport or something like that, and you're not able to make those decisions legally, who is your enduring power of attorney? So, I mean, that's an important when you've got dependents and a a large estate or even average-sized estate, you know. You need somebody who's gonna step in and make those decisions for you.
SPEAKER_00:Okay.
SPEAKER_01:I think my my parents certainly have one. I don't think I have one. It's probably my yeah, it's probably it's probably my wife. I suppose if something happens to me, I'd have to double check that. But so even myself, I don't think I have that. So, and I'm out cycling, you know, I don't know when I'm gonna get uh buy a car.
SPEAKER_00:Let's not go there. Let's not go there. But you're right.
SPEAKER_01:What happens then?
SPEAKER_00:Absolutely. Awesome. So for those that are listening, if you are thinking about what steps should I start taking to prepare for that retirement, apart from you know, making sure you've got your mortgage paid off and getting Kiwi Saver, etc., think about other things, you know, wills, enduring power of attorney. What does the life look like for the ones left behind if you were to pass away? Yeah so there is no mess and there's no family dramas, because that's what happens sometimes as well when someone passes away. And I mean that happened when you know my own grandma passed away. There was some family dramas in there. Not necessarily about the money, but as you say, you know, like the wishes of the one that passed away. What happens? Where do they want to be buried? How do they want everything to go? How do they want the ceremony to go, etc., etc.? So there's a lot of logistics involved as well, not necessarily just the money.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:At the core.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly. And that's and that's what my mum did as well. We understood completely what her wishes were for all those things that you've just mentioned. So it made our job really easy. I mean, mum passed away on a Friday. We had the service on the Monday.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:So it it was very easy and clear to do because she's, I mean, she was always very organized.
SPEAKER_00:So in life and in death. Well done, Mum.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00:Well done, Mum. Awesome. James, thank you so much for sharing such an important message. Um, we'll wrap it up here. But for those that are listening, and if you want to explore this further, feel free to reach out because we do have connections with those in the legal system as well that we can point you in the right direction as well. Thank you. Goodbye.
